Banana Balloon continues Tencent’s mission of “Tech for Good” via The Third Ear short film
Tencent Sustainable Social Value Organization in China aims to practice Tencent’s mission of “Tech for Good”. In three years, this organization has implemented multiple sustainable development cases and it hopes to tell users through short films. The short films will be like a “sustainable development train” that travels to every station in cities and villages, continuing the power of tech for good. The short film content will also partner with CCTV News for co-creation and broadcasting. Created by Banana Balloon, the ultimate goal is to produce a series of stories that accumulate SSV’s efforts.
Banana Balloon found that AI hearing aids can effectively improve hearing loss for rural elderly. For them, not hearing often means disconnection and loneliness. Better hearing means not just hearing, but understanding and being understood, which is crucial for rural seniors.
The story is about three war veterans who grew apart due to hearing loss and miscommunication. As their hearing faded, their bonds weakened. But the sudden passing of one of them, shows how the one who understood you most can disappear, highlighting the importance of a third ear to the elderly. Besides the hearing aid, the third ear also mean those who understand what you say and what you leave unsaid.
The film partnered with CCTV channels. Without media investment, it garnered about 3 million views on Tencent media channels, Xinpianchang, Bilibili, ranking first on Xinpianchang two straight weeks. The film is about 7.5 minutes long. As an episodic program rather than advertisement, Season 1 is called “Sustainable Train”. It premiered on Bilibili, and the high viewership led to a CCTV co-branded broadcast.
The film generated a short viral effect. On the first day of release, it garnered 3 million views, with 20,000 users sharing the video. A week later, the national channel took notice and proactively contacted Tencent, eventually becoming a title sponsor and doing a full report of this story on CCTV’s charity radio station.
Credits
Agent/ Banana Balloon
Production Company/LINKFILMS
Creator /Akae Wang, Zita Zou
Script Creation/Akae Wang, Zita Zhou, Xie Peng, Zhang Xiao Yue
Director/Editor/Re-recording Mixer: Xie Peng
Executive Producer/ Zhou Yang
Production Manager/ Liu Ting
Copywriter/Akae wang, Zita Zoe
Art director/Ken Lin, Azusa huang
Assistant Director/ Zhang Xiao Yue
Casting Director/ Liu He Yang
Camera Operator/ Wang Yu Ru, Xian Liu Jie
Original Music/Delehei
Unit Production /Zheng Yang Yang, Han Xiao Xin
Location Manager/ Qi Xiao Yong, Li Xiang Hui, Dai Xue Bin
Stage Supervisor/ He Jia Lin, He Ji Yun, He Ji Quan, He Shu Zhen, He Hao, He Jia Lei
Camera Assistant/ Guo Xian Bing, Yang Lei Lei, Wang Ji Jun, Jiang Yu Jiang , Lei Jin , Weng Yu, Bai Wen Jie
Production Designer / Xing Jun
Art Master/ Xing Wen Hui
Executive Art Designer / Yu Jia Yi
Gaffer / Yu Ming Bao
Best Boy/ Song Zhi Wei , Cui Xiao Bin
Stylist / Wang Hai Bin
Key Costumer/ Miao Hong Fei
Make-up Artist/ Qiu Meng Fan
Boom Operator/Zhang Yu Hang
Sound Assistant/ Chen Zhao You